Regional Jail Plan Approved by Council

Cleveland Prisoners, Bedford Jail and Purchase of Cleveland Police Headquarters Included in Agreement

CUYAHOGA COUNTY – Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish, Cuyahoga County Chief Community Safety and Protection Officer Frank Bova, Cuyahoga County Sheriff Clifford Pinkney, and Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department Director of Regional Corrections Ken Mills, today announced Cuyahoga County has reached an agreement with the City of Cleveland to undertake their housing and booking jail operations.

“Today marks a milestone for Cuyahoga County, as we make progress towards regionalizing our public safety services. Through collaboration with our county and city leaders, we are able to enhance our current jail operations, while providing more economical, efficient, and effective jail services to both the city and county. I commend Mayor Jackson, Chief Bova, Sheriff Pinkney, Director Mills, and Director McGrath as we work to advance public safety efforts,” said County Executive Armond Budish. “With this deal, the City of Cleveland will save more than $5 million per year, and we will be offering this service to all of our municipalities, so they too can save money.”

The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department, which operates the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, has laid out a nine-month transition plan that includes the following changes:

City of Cleveland will discontinue their jail services (booking, housing, and other related services).

Cuyahoga County will operate the Bedford Heights jail facility to manage the additional jail population. The facility will house approximately 200 male inmates.

Cuyahoga County will transition the Bedford Heights jail facility into a Comprehensive Reentry Services Center, which will offer the same offender reentry services as the county’s Euclid jail facility.

The Euclid jail facility will house female inmates and will offer Comprehensive Reentry Services to the females housed in that facility.

"The county/city merger is the ultimate regionalization effort," said Chief of Public Safety, Frank Bova. “The efficiencies gained by the partnership will be felt for years to come. County Executive Armond Budish, County Councilman Michael Gallagher and the Public Safety Committee, along with Mayor Jackson and his team, plus Sheriff Pinkney and Regional Jail Director Ken Mills should be commended for their leadership on this issue.”

This is a break-even venture for Cuyahoga County, which means the charges for these services are equal to the cost of providing them. Non-recurring startup expenses will cost $5,603,413.98, which includes personnel, training, and inmate housing during the nine-month transition period. Modifications to the Bedford Heights jail facility are also included in the cost.